AP US Government Final Exam/AP Exam Study Guide Unit 1:Foundation and constitutional underpinnings 1.

4 Characteristics of State Population (people) Territory: land with known and recognized boundaries Sovereignty (important!): supreme and absolute power within its own territory; c an decide on foreign and domestic policy, and is not subordinate nor responsible to any other authority Government: the institution through which the state maintains social order, prov ides public services, and enforces decisions that are binding on all people livi ng within the state 2. 4 Theories of development of state A. Force theory: one person or group claimed control over an area and fo rced all within it to obey Evolutionary theory: developed out of an early family. Father is the head of the family/government. Eventually many families came together and the stronge st became the head of the clan/tribe/government. Divine right theory: god given right to rule; EX kings Social contract theory: state developed voluntarily; people created gove rnment, therefore government serves the people. People can change the government . This theory is the most widely accepted/used 3. 4 main purposes of government Maintaining Social Order (MSO): people need order or else they would liv e in constant conflict Providing Public Services (PPS): to provide essential services that make community life possible and promote general welfare Providing National Security (PNS): to protect the people against attacks by other states. EX wars, terrorism, etc. Making Economic Decisions (MED): provide their citizens with economic op portunities or resources 4. 3 types of government (def., characteristics) Autocracy: a system of government in which the power and authority to rule are i n the hands of a single individual Oligarchy: a system of government in which a small group holds power (this group gets its power from wealth, military power, social position, and sometimes even religion) Democracy: any system of government in which the government is ruled by the peop le 5. 3 systems of government (def. ,characteristics) Unitary: a system that gives all key powers to the national or central governmen t Federal: a system that divides the power of government between national and stat e or provincial governments Confederate: a loose union of independent states 6. Early Influences on American government Greeks- Created the idea of citizenship (originally only men who owned large plo ts of land could be citizens; not a true democracy) Romans- First to create a republic; a form of government in which people elect r epresentatives to govern them Magna Carta- The Kings barons, or lords, did not like the new court system becaus e it took away some of their traditional powers, like having their own courts an d laws. In 1215, the barons joined to form the Great Council (start of a represe ntative democracy) and forced the King to sign a document that spelled out their rights; it also stated that Kings could not impose taxes without the consent of the Great Council

 Parliament- With creation of Great Council and signing of Magna Carta, represent ative government in Britain was created English Bill of Rights- The BOR gave Parliament more powers than the King and Qu een and guaranteed certain rights to belong to the people (elections, taxes, law s, etc.) 7. Social Contract Theory Locke- Said that Magna Carta and Bill of Rights protect the inalienable rights o f all British citizensAll people have the inalienable rights to: life, liberty, and propertyPeople created govt and chose to be governed in order to live in an o rderly society; govt arose from a contract between the ruler and the ruledRuler o nly has power as long as they have the consent of the governed Rousseau- Ideal society where people form a community and make a social contract with each other, not with a ruler. People give some of their freedoms in favor of the needs of the majority. The community votes on all decisions, and everybod y has to accept the decision Montesquieu- Best way to ensure the govt protects the rights of citizens to limit its powers; separation of powers. Dividing powers between different branches of govt ensures no branch has too much power; checks and balances 8. What was the path to the constitution: Early relations, taxes and protes t, war and independence, articles of confederation, call to convention, constitu tional convention and compromises, and US constitution. A. Up until the 1760s relations between the colonies and England were good, but t hey started to get more strained because of Englands incapability to watch over e very single thing the Americans do because of the distance between them. When Ki ng George III took over the thrown relations between the colonies and England be came bad and King George, in order to pay for the French & Indian War, taxed the colonies for tea, sugar, glass, paper, and other products. The taxes included t he Stamp Act, which taxed all paper products. The colonists were outraged by the taxes and boycotted goods and more. This led to the intolerable acts, which jus t lead to more tension. To discuss the problems, the Stamp Act Congress was form ed and later the 1st Continental Congress. The tension continued which led to the shot heard around the world and the start of the Revolutionary War. Soon after t he Second Continental congress took place. They wrote the Declaration of Indepen dence and they acted as the temporary govt during the war. The colonies won the war and the articles of confederation became the first national government after the revolution. This government didnt work properly. There was no executive bran ch, no taxing, no public services, no trade regulation, no national courts, no c hanges unless permission from all states, no military, and really just not much of a national government. The constitutional convention was called to fix these problems. The constitutional convention made a government with an executive bran ch, legislative branch, and bicameral legislature (Virginia plan and new jersey plan combined to make the Connecticut compromise). There was also the 3/5 ths co mpromise which counted each slave as 3/5 of a person, the presidential term of f our years, and the electoral college compromise. It took a while, but eventually all the states ratified the constitution. 9. Components of policy making system The policy making system is made up of 6 components. 1. People-interests, problems, concerns 2. Linkage institutions- parties, elections, media, interest groups 3. Policy agenda- political issues 4. Policymaking institutions- legislature, executive, courts, bureaucracy 5. Policy- expenditures, taxes, laws, regulations, nondecisions 6. People- impacts of policies 10. The three theories of American democracy A. Pluralist- states that groups with shared interests influence public pol icy by pressing their concerns through organized efforts. B. Elite and Class- contends that our society, like all societies, is divid ed along class lines and that an upper-class elite pulls the strings of the gove

rnment. C. Hyperpluralism- states that many groups- are so strong that government i s unable to act.